Celtic Triangular 1981-1984

Posted on June 6, 2014 by David McAlister

Olimpbase, the encyclopaedia of team chess, has recently added to its vast archives the Celtic Triangular tournaments of 1981-1982 and 1983-1984. In both series there were three rounds with Ireland, Scotland and Wales each taking it in turns to host one of the rival teams. Matches were double round affairs with six male boards and two female.

The main source for the material at Olimpbase are the reports here and here on the Chess Scotland website, which are in turn taken from the original reports in the official Scottish Chess magazine. There is additional information from the British Chess Magazine – however it also came from Scottish sources and therefore Olimpbase is less well served by contemporary reports on the Ireland-Wales encounters. In particular, although four game scores are presented from their match in the 1st series, even bare results from the other 12 games are missing. From the 2nd series, one game score has been found but the results from the other 15 games are absent.

Fortunately we are in a position to fill in the blanks. Olimpbase indicates that, in the 1st Celtic Triangular, the Round 2 Wales-Ireland match was played in Gwbert. To this we can add the precise venue was the Cliff Hotel and that the match was played on the Halloween weekend of 31 October and 1 November 1981, just two weeks after the Round 1 Scotland-Wales encounter.

   1st Celtic Triangular 1981-1982 Round 2

   Wales               10.5-5.5  Ireland

1. Howard Williams     1-0  1-0  Paul Delaney
2. George Botterill    1-0  1-0  Philip Short
3. John Cooper         1-0  1-0  Anthony McCarthy
4. Stuart Hutchings    =-=  =-=  Tony Doyle
5. Iolo Jones          =-=  1-0  John Delaney
6. Phillip Cunningham  0-1  0-1  Eugene Curtin
7. Jane Garwell        1-0  1-0  April Cronin
8. Debbie Evans        0-1  0-1  Ann Delaney

Moving on to the 2nd Celtic Triangular, Olimpbase reports that the Round 2 match between Ireland and Wales was played February 1984 in Cork. We can add the precise dates were 18 and 19 February and the venue was Lee Maltings, UCC.

   2nd Celtic Triangular 1983-1984 Round 2

   Ireland           6.5-9.5   Wales

1. David Dunne       =-=  =-=  George Botterill
2. Philip Short      0-1  0-1  Howard Williams
3. Colm Barry        0-1  =-=  John Cooper
4. Paul Wallace      =-=  =-=  Iolo Jones
5. Eddie O'Reilly    =-=  0-1  Paul Lamford
6. Pat Carton        0-1  1-0  Phillip Cunningham
7. April Cronin      1-0  1-0  Jane Garwell
8. Suzanne Connolly  0-1  =-=  Debbie Evans

Olimpbase has gathered together nine games from the two series. As it happens, all of these feature Irish players but only seven are to be found in the ICU Database. The extra two games are Morrison-Orr and O’Reilly-Bryson from the Scotland-Ireland match that concluded the 1983-1984 Celtic Triangular. However we can also add the return game between Bryson and O’Reilly.

Douglas Bryson (SCO) – Eddie O`Reilly (IRL)
2nd Celtic Triangular, Round 3.2
Edinburgh, 4th March 1984

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.f4 Nc6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Qf3 e5 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.f5 0–0 11.0–0–0 Qa5 12.Bc4 Bb7 13.g4 d5 14.g5 dxc4 15.gxf6 Bxf6 16.Rd6 Rfd8 17.Rxf6 gxf6
According to O’Reilly, here White had only used 10 minutes and was 1 hour ahead on the clock.
18.Bh6 Kh8 19.Qg3 Rg8 20.Qh4 Qd8 21.Ne2
 White had intended 21.Rd1 Qe7 22.Rd7 but now saw that 22…Rg1+ forces off Rooks. (O’Reilly)
21…Qe7 22.Ng3 c3 23.Kb1 Ba6 24.Nh5 Rab8
My computer engine suggests 24…Rg5, which would seem to end the attack. All White can do is get his sacrificed exchange back with 25.Bxg5 fxg5 but after 26.Qe1 cxb2 Black should win.
25.b3 Rg2 26.Nxf6 Bd3

After 26...Bd3

After 26…Bd3

This loses the game. Instead 26…Rbg8 draws. (O’Reilly) Accepting the Bishop sacrifice with 27.cxd3 would however have given Black the win after a follow-up Rook sacrifice on b3.
27.Bg5 Rxb3+
If White accepts the Rook sacrifice with 28.axb3, then 28…Bxc2 leads quickly to checkmate. However by declining it with
28.Ka1
it was Black who had to resign with checkmate inevitable. 1–0
[Click to replay the full game.]

Contemporary Irish sources:
1st Celtic Triangular:
Irish Times 5 xi 1981; Sunday Independent 18 x 1981, 20 xii 1981.
2nd Celtic Triangular:
Irish Times 8 ii 1984; Sunday Independent 5 ii 1984, 26 ii 1984, 18 iii 1984, 25 iii 1984.

Posted in Celtic Triangular, Tournaments | 2 Comments

Winawer Praxis—II

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Sean Coffey

This month’s issue of The New Winawer Report, now posted on the tnwr page, returns to the theme of recent games, with three games from the past few months, each featuring lines covered in previous issues.

The first features the Black setup with … Qg8-h7 discussed in the last issue: Iordăchescu–Miedema, Iaşi Open 2014 appeared after the last issue and resulted in a quick White win, providing a convenient test of last issue’s conclusions.

The second features the Ng3-e4-d6 line in the Poisoned Pawn that was previously discussed in issues 3 and 9. In Kidd–Vivante-Sowter, BCCA/BL/Ch13 ICCF corr 2013, Black tried an improvement recommended by Watson and by Berg, and won very soon after.

The third returns to Robert Byrne’s idea h3, g4 and Rb1 in the Poisoned Pawn. Issue 6 discussed what not to do as Black, and the present issue deals instead with how Black should respond, via the game Arcos Facio–Curi Milia, Uruguayan Championship 2014. Black quickly diverged from one approved approach and should have lost, but emerged triumphant in a roller-coaster game.

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Vizayanagaram Tournament, London 1883

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Sean Coffey

Tim Harding has recently written an extensive article (see part 1 and part 2) on the almost forgotten Vizayanagaram Tournament, sponsored by the Maharaja of Vizayanagaram and held in conjunction with the London International Tournament in 1883.

One Irish player participated: the Rev. George Alcock MacDonnell, born in Dublin in 1830, a strong player of the day. Indeed according to Tim’s article his inclusion was controversial, on the grounds that he was too strong.

In the event he was in mixed form and, though the crosstable below doesn’t show it clearly, he finished third behind Curt von Bardeleben and Bernard Fisher.

Vizayaganaram Tournament 1883 crosstable

The tournament book, Games played in the London International Chess Tournament, 1883 (J. I. Minchin, ed.) (available on Google Books), concentrated on the main event and includes only a minority of the games in the Vizayanagaram event. The book includes seven of MacDonnell’s games, and these are the same ones included in the ICU games archive. It’s a remarkable fact that new games can be uncovered all these years later, and Tim has found four more: the games against Dudley, Puller, and West, from various issues of MacDonnell’s column in the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, and the game against Ranken, annotated by W. N. Potter in Land and Water.

All eleven games have been added to the archive here. Notes have been removed but collected annotations can be found for these, and all other known games from the tournament, in Tim’s article, part 2.

Posted in Games, Players | 1 Comment

Fagan-Walsh, Leinster Schoolboys’ Championship 1949

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Sean Coffey

Fagan - Walsh, Leinster Schoolboys Championship 1949With Oliver Dunne’s picture of the 1948 Leinster Schoolboys’ Championship in mind, here is a game from the 1949 event, between Michael Fagan, who appears in the picture, and J.J. Walsh. I think this was a third playoff game after the first two were drawn. The source is one of J.J.’s scorebooks (see below), and the game is not in the ICU games archive. It follows a theoretical line in the Guioco Piano (Møller Attack?). The diagrammed position, with Black to play his 16th, appears in over a hundred games in the main database I consulted, and seems to be drawn with best play. Black knew the theory and White didn’t.

The note talks of Michael Fagan retiring from the game, but that seems to have been written over fifty years ago; the scorebook goes up to the early 1960’s.

[Click to play through the full game.]

fagan-walsh-1949-scoresheet

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Who (and what and when): a partial solution

Posted on May 18, 2014 by Sean Coffey

On the puzzle of Oliver Dunne’s picure, my guesses weren’t too bad but still fell short. Looking at the formal attire, it’s clear this is no recent event, or an event from my own playing days. The players all seemed around the same age, and young but not too young. I therefore guessed that it might be an Irish Universities event, which I thought was a team championship, from sometime in the 1950’s.

I showed the picture to J.J. Walsh during my recent visit to Dublin. He noticed that the colours weren’t alternating board-to-board, so that this was probably not a team event. He recognised the player playing Black in the game closest to the camera as Michael Fagan and the one playing White in the game third from the camera as Geoffrey Hand. J.J. played Michael Fagan during the Leinster Schools’ Championship 1949, and after some consideration thought this picture might be of the previous year’s event, i.e., the Leinster Schools’ Championship 1948.

Michael Fagan still plays, for Dublin C.C., for the B.E.A. Cup team. (I’m assuming this is the same player; corrections welcome. FIDE records show him as born in 1932, which fits.)

Posted in Photos, Puzzles | 1 Comment

Who?

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Sean Coffey

chesspicture_oliver-dunne

Oliver Dunne has sent the picture above, which he bought several years ago at a stall or second-hand bookshop. There were no details of event, year, participants, or location. (See a larger version.)

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Posted in Photos | 2 Comments

Grefe-Mednis, US Championship 1973, and a ‘deep idea’

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Sean Coffey

tnwr-16The latest issue of The New Winawer Report has been posted on the Winawer page. This one covers the positional lines, in which Black tries the setup … Ba4 and … c4, recommended in several recent books: Vitiugov, Moskalenko, and Berg.

It is hard to find examples of Black’s setup from the early years, perhaps because White usually played a4 at an early opportunity. One of the first significant examples is Grefe-Mednis, US Championship, El Paso 1973, covered here. In a major surprise, the late John Grefe (1947-2014) recorded eight wins and finished equal first, sharing the title: even at the time it was a surprise that this could be done by an untitled player. He didn’t even have a FIDE rating!

The setup did not gain significant popularity until the mid-’80’s, when Hertneck introduced the ‘deep idea’ (Berg) … Qg8-h7. Most games in this issue start from the diagrammed position, which was reached in the stem game. That game resulted in a defeat for Black, and indeed White has a significant plus record from this position. Black needs to exercise care …

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Armstrong Cup, 1977 and today

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Sean Coffey

This Sunday sees the final round of the Armstrong Cup. Dublin University has been ahead all season, but stumbled slightly recently with a loss to Gonzaga. With a 2-point lead, and with the only other possible winners Elm Mount and Gonzaga playing each other, they must still be solid favourites. But strange things can happen in last rounds …

The 1976-77 Armstrong Cup was added to the Armstrong Cup page here recently, and the records have now been expanded out to give that season its own page, with all known match scorecards.

One aspect that stands out is the number of players who played in both the 1976-77 Armstrong and again in this one. I had assumed there might be three or four, but in fact there are at least ten, and maybe more than a dozen. In alphabetical order, and with their 1976-77 and current teams respectively, they are:

Brian Beckett (Dublin A, Bray/Greystones)
Ray Byrne (Collegians, Gonzaga)
Tony Dennehy (Collegians, Dún Laoghaire)
Oliver Dunne (Dundrum, Elm Mount)
John Gibson (Collegians, St. Benildus)
Tim Harding (Dundrum, Dublin University)
Eamon Keogh (Ierne, Kilkenny)
Joe Noone (Kevin Barry, Celbridge)
Bernard Palmer (Dublin B, Dún Laoghaire)
Herbert Scarry (Printers, Phibsboro)

and some I’m less sure of:

J. Bradley, U.C.D. / John Bradley, Kilkenny
C. Egan, Collegians / Colm Egan, Dublin
F. McMahon, Portmarnock / Frank McMahon, Phibsboro.

I may have missed some; corrections welcome.

The list of players who played in the Leinster Leagues in both seasons must be a long one. I’ll note Art Coldrick (Collegians, Armstrong ’76-’77; Phibsboro, Heidenfeld this season), Jack Killane (Rathmines in both years; Armstrong ’76-’77, Heidenfeld this season) and Mick Germaine (Printers, Armstrong ’76-’77; Phibsboro, Heidenfeld this season).

Posted in Armstrong Cup, Club chess, Players | 2 Comments

‘The Ultimate Main Line of the Winawer Poisoned Pawn’

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Sean Coffey

The theory of the Winawer Poisoned Pawn has built up over decades into such a dense and complex thicket that it requires something out of the ordinary for any variation to be called by the impressive title above. But this is exactly how Emanuel Berg labels the variation starting with 12 h4 (‘!’ according to Berg), instead of 12 Qd3, in his recent book on the 7 Qg4 Winawer. Certainly White has so far recorded excellent results with it.

John Watson’s Play the French, 4th edition (Everyman, 2012) considers the same line, though much more briefly, and he recommends the response 12 … b6, with analysis leading to equality. Berg devotes one full chapter to this line and concludes that it’s insufficient for Black.

J. Geller-Bellahcene, Meurthe-et-Moselle IM 2014The latest issue of The New Winawer Report, now posted on the Winawer page, considers this line, via the very recent game (from last month) J. Geller-Bellahcene, Meurthe-et-Moselle IM 2014. In the diagrammed position Black has just played 16 … Ne3, leaving Berg’s analysis. His GM opponent went wrong immediately and was crushed in a mere five more moves.

A curious aspect of this new cutting edge, the last word in computer-aided theory (at least for the moment), is that it has much in common with Pickett’s line 11 h4 considered in the last issue, introduced in the 1970’s and practically ignored since then. In particular some lines, notably those where Black plays 12 … b6, feature the same Rh3 theme, covering the third rank.

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Garry Kasparov in Dublin

Posted on April 2, 2014 by David McAlister

Garry Kasparov Meeting

The 13th World Champion is currently on the campaign trail as he bids to unseat Kirsan Ilyumzhinov from the Presidency of FIDE. His principal purpose in coming to Dublin was to meet delegates from Ireland and neighbouring Federations who will be attending the FIDE Congress in August when the vital vote will be held.

Kasparov arrived in Ireland on Friday 28th March and that evening he made an appearance on RTE’s The Late Late Show. The following morning was taken up with the business session with the delegates and then his afternoon was given over to attending what the ICU described as a “special meeting of Irelandâ’s finest and most dedicated chess enthusiasts.”

Someone pointed out that Ireland’s finest would be competing at the concurrent Cork Congress. In deciding whether those present were worthy of such a description, I must declare an interest, because (as the invitation above shows) I was one of the invitees.

Arriving at the venue, my first thought was that the room was a bit on the small size. Still, having arrived precisely at the appointed hour, I had time to order a pint at the bar before the room got busy. The said pint was then captured en passant without anyone noticing but the staff were kind enough to provide a free replacement. When Kasparov arrived a short time later the room was already seriously crowded (well what else would you expect form an Irish pub?) and Eamonn Keogh ordered the traditional pint of Guinness for our visitor.

Kasparov with pint of Guinness

Sorry for the grainy image of Kasparov but that’s the best I could do with the camera on my ancient mobile phone. I’m not sure how much Kasparov actually drank from the pint, but soon after he was shepherded through the room to a place where he could be photographed with many of those present. Garry complied willingly with photo requests but I think he might have preferred something a little more structured and after about an hour he was on his way. The room slowly began to lose a few more of those present and it became possible to mingle again. It was an interesting and memorable experience to be in the same room with perhaps the greatest player ever but also to meet many Irish chess personalities in a non-competitive setting. Maybe, as someone suggested to me, we could make this a regular informal gathering of Irish chessplayers. I’m not sure how regular these awards are but maybe we could tie it in with inductions to the Hall of Fame.

Posted in News | 1 Comment